Ich hab die Nacht geträumet

"Ich hab die Nacht geträumet" (I dreamed last night) is a German folk song. It is a melancholic song that tells of a disturbing dream foreshadowing death – a rosemary tree in the garden, falling leaves, and a jar broken to pieces and bleeding a red liquid. In Northern Germany, rosemary was planted in graveyards, and mourners at funerals would sometimes wear rosemary stalks.

Contents

It is unknown when the song was first popularized, but the melody was first written and published in 1777 by Friedrich Nicolai in Eyn feyner kleyner Almanach with the text of "Es wollt ein Jäger jagen" (A hunter wanted to go hunting).[1] Other versions using the same melody but different lyrics included "Das Laub fällt von den Bäumen" (The leaves fall from the trees) by Siegfried August Mahlmann in 1804/1805,[2] "Schöne Kinder lieben" (Beautiful children love), and "Zu Koblenz auf der Brücken" (In Koblenz on the bridge).

The best-known and most widely used lyrics to the melody were written by German preacher and collector of folk songs August Zarnack.[2][3] Zarnack's version was originally published under the title "Der schwere Traum" (The heavy dream), and appeared in Zarnack's 1820 book which was a collection of German folk songs intended for primary schools.[4][5] Zarnach's textbook sold well, and in the 1840s and onwards, "Ich hab die Nacht geträumet" was increasingly included in other music workbooks as well for schools and choirs.[2]